Pumpkin Pie

It is impressive how much pumpkin I have in my house right now. I have eight pumpkins on my table, and several cans of pumpkin puree. Although I am incapable of cutting pumpkin pie, I do promise this pie is worth trying. 

The flavors of pumpkin and coconut marry nicely. So this cake has a very traditional flavor, the coconut is not over powering.

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

1 (12 oz) can of coconut milk

2 eggs 

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I prefer to use 1/2 teaspoon, because I don't like cinnamon)

1 (9 inch) pie shell

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F

Combine the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, salt, ginger, cloves,  and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the coconut milk (don't add more then 12 oz, otherwise the pie will not set properly)

Pour the mixture into the pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350, and continue to bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. 

Dark Chocolate Macaron Shells

Meringue is an exquisite dairy-free dessert. Although they take a little extra love to make, the results are well worth it.

Ingredients
115 g Almond Flour
15 g of cocoa powder
230 g of powdered sugar
145 g of egg whites
70 g of caster sugar

If this is your first time making macarons, I recommend going on YouTube and watching some video tutorials. This one was very helpful to me.

Sift the almond flour, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar together (repeat twice to mix thoroughly).

In a stand mixer, beat the eggs and and caster sugar on low for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another two minutes. Increase the speed to high for 2 minutes. Add food coloring if you want and turn your mixer to ultra high (as high as it will go) for 1 minute.

Dump all the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, and fold the ingredients together. Once the mixture takes on the consistency of lava, transfer it into a piping bag (I use a gallon Ziploc, and cut off the tip).

Pipe the macarons onto pans lined with parchment paper. Each circle should be approximately 3 cm in diameter.

Slap the pans on the counter 3 times. You'll see tiny air bubbles come to the surface.

Let the cookies rest on the counter for 15 minutes. Set your oven to 300°F.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and let the cookies sit on the tray for 2-3 minutes. Remove the parchment from the tray and let the parchment and cookies cool for at least 20 minutes. 

You can either enjoy as is, or pair up and fill with your favorite filling. 

Try Pumpkin Caramel Dark Chocolate Macarons for an amazing Halloween treat.

Use the caramel from the Pumpkin Caramel Recipe.
Put 1/3 cup of very cold caramel in a small sandwich bag, cut off the tip.
Squeeze the bag to pipe a small amount of caramel onto a cold cookie.
Match an equal size cookie and enjoy.
Make sure to keep these cookies cold, otherwise the caramel will melt.

Pumpkin Caramel

Autumn means pumpkins, and I am ecstatic for the opportunity to incorporate them into my recipes.

The pumpkin in this caramel gives it a warm, earthy flavor, and makes a perfect topping over brownies, toasted pecans, or baked peaches.

Though the recipe uses coconut milk, very little of the coconut flavor comes through, allowing a broader range of uses.

2 1/2 cups white sugar

2/3 cup coconut milk*

7 oz marshmallow cream

3/4 cup pureed kabocha pumpkin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: cinnamon, pumpkin spice

*The coconut milk in this recipe must be the full fat canned type. Scoop the fatty contents off the top, avoiding the liquid contents that should have settled to the bottom.

In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, salt, and sugar over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Mix in the pureed pumpkin, and bring the mixture back to a boil

Stir in the marshmallow creme, and bring back to a rolling boil. Continue boiling the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat, and carefully mix in the vanilla. Poor into a heat proof container, and allow the contents to cool.